During a 2003 concert at Madison Square Garden, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe picked up an acoustic guitar and strummed a solo version of Interpol’s “NYC.” With just his voice and rudimentary playing, Stipe stripped back the ascendant indie band’s best-loved song to an impassioned paean to his adopted city. At the time, Interpol was constantly dodging comparisons to Joy Division with their angular guitar stabs and Paul Banks’ distinct baritone that reminded some of Ian Curtis. The band never mentioned R.E.M. as an influence.
Twenty-four years after their debut record Turn on the Bright Lights, Interpol returns with eighth album This Mirror Weighs a Ton. Working this time with producer Andrew Wyatt, Interpol has put out not only their strongest record since sophomore effort Antics (2004), but one that sounds deeply indebted to R.E.M.
Like prior efforts, This Mirror Weighs a Ton may run a bit too long, watering down the strongest material with lesser cuts. Interpol has frequently been accused of spinning its wheels since the acclaim for the band’s first two albums. This Mirror Weighs a Ton is the band’s first record on Partisan and also the first to feature touring bassist Brad Truax as an official member.
On prior efforts, Banks’ voice tended to float over Daniel Kessler’s riffs, but this time he often sounds buried under the jangle, much like Stipe did on tracks from the early I.R.S. records. Check out the moment on “See Out Loud” when Banks wails, “I want it/ I need it” and you can hear the connective tissue with R.E.M. song like “Pilgrimage.”
This Mirror Weighs a Ton can often feel austere, even when the band throws rockers like “See Out Loud” and “Wings On Fire” into the mix. Some of the more interesting tracks come near the end, like the skeletal piano ballad “Enemy” and the lush “Bird and the Serpent,” which feels like both a classic Interpol track and an interesting new direction for the band with its extended outro. The record really should have ended there rather than with monotonous “Sudden.”
Though Wyatt’s presence is subtle, he does add new tricks that help Banks and company push beyond the staid sound that stalled out prior efforts. Cataclysmic drums loops on “Iron City” while “Wake Up” features a sunny riff and dance-punk rhythm, making it perhaps the sunniest thing Interpol has ever recorded.
But don’t expect anything that strays too far from the Interpol sound. Even if Michael Stipe could crystallize their best song, Interpol arrived in the early ‘00s sounding fully formed. They haven’t done much since to outrun or change the sound that made Stipe and a generation of hipsters into fans.